FREE CHORD BOOK Introduction Hi, I m Andy and welcome to my chord book for beginners! Most chord books are packed full hundreds of chord diagrams, so many in fact it could take literally years to play each one of them! They offer no tips on how to make those chords sound good and most of the chords they cover would never occur in the songs you want to learn. This book is different. It includes only the most essential chords so that in time you can memorize each one of them at your own pace. It includes photos of how I play them and my tips for great sounding chords. Finally, I included how to change between the most common chords. This is the hardest bit for most people, but essential to be able to play songs! In this ebook I ll show you how to: Read chord boxes We learn how chords are written down so you can learn to play any chord you like! Play the most common open chords Open chords are any chords that include open strings. This book includes enough open chords to be able to play literally hundreds of songs! Tips on chord changes Changing between chords is the hard bit to begin with. I ve got plenty of tips threaded throughout this level to help make this as EASY as possible! If you like this, why not check out my beginners course workbook! This 81 page book includes all the chords, strumming patterns and all the other essential guitar skills you need to be able to play most of the songs on my website and beyond! Click here for more information! 2
The E chord Chord Boxes Chord boxes show us where to put our fingers for each chord. Here is the chord box for the E Chord (E major). The black dots show where to place your fingers. The numbers show which finger you should use (1 is index finger, 2 is middle finger etc). In this chord, we strum all 6 strings on the guitar. This double line is the nut of the guitar. This is where the strings meet the head The E Chord The vertical lines are the guitars frets O means the open string should be heard. X tells us this string should not be played The horizontal lines are the strings. This one is your thickest E string Finger placement/ buzzing etc You must place your fingers at your side of the fret area instead of in the middle. This is the most common cause of fret buzz, an unwanted sound where the strings don t ring out and buzz. Top tips to make your chords sound great! Press down with the tips of your fingers only Place your fingers at the near side of the fret Use a pick! Picks give a clearer sound. Use a thin one (.38mm) to begin with! Don t play any strings with an X Don t touch the underside of your guitar with the palm of your chord hand (see picture to the right) 3
The A chord O means the open string should be heard. The A Chord X tells us this string should not be played Playing a chord from memory is essential; this is why we re just looking at 2 to begin with! Repeat this exercise as the start of your practice time to get these 2 chords memorized asap. 5 Steps to being able to play a chord from memory! 1. Use this diagram to place your fingers in the right place 2. Strum the chord 3. Look at your fingers and memorize the shape they are in 4. Lift off your hand totally 5. Now place your fingers Remember the names of the open strings! The names of the first 2 chords are the same as the thickest two open strings- E & A! Remember; Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears to remember E A D G B E (thickest to thinnest!) Ears Big Grow Donkeys And Elephants The A Chord 4
Changing Between E & A Chords This is the hard bit! To help, I suggest keeping your first finger down and shuffling it between the first and second frets. This is called an anchor finger as it stays in contact with the guitar and should make your changes smoother. E Chord A chord Anchor Finger exercise 1. Play the E chord 2. Keep your index finger down, and lift off the other 2 3. Slide your index finger to the second fret 4. Play the A chord by placing your 2nd finger above and the 3 rd finger below at the same fret This anchor finger idea will also help you to play the next chord (which is a D) as the first finger will not have to move at all to play it! 10 Steps to great chord changes! 1. Play the E chord either from memory or by using the diagram 2. Strum the E chord 3. Keep your 1 st finger down but lift the other two off 4. Slide your 1 st finger to the second fret 5. Place your 2 nd finger above and 3 rd finger below to play the A chord 6. Strum the A chord 7. Keep your 1 st finger down but lift the other two off 8. Slide your 1 st finger back to the first fret 9. Play the E chord 10. Repeat repeat repeat for a few minutes as often as possible for as long as it takes! 5
The D chord The D chord This is the new chord for this level. The first finger is in the same position as in the A chord which is a nice way to first learn the chord. Do not to play the thickest 2 strings as shown by the X s in the chord box below- or it will sound bad! Changing between chords E, A and D Same principal should be used as in Level 1 for the E & A change. Keep your first finger down and just lift off fingers 2 & 3 to change chord! Any chord change you struggle with should be practiced for a minute each practice session. 6
Easy Rock Power Chords So far we have learned the E, A and D major chords. A lot of Rock and Blues music tends to play the Power chord version of these chords to sound heavier and darker. The upshot of this is the open power chords can be played with 1 finger, so they are really easy to play!! So let s take a look: Open Power chords E5, A5 and D5 Remember: Only play 2 strings for each chord; the string you have your finger on and the thicker string right physically above it. Notice that the root note (The lowest note of the chord) is the same compared to the standard major chord. But when played, these chords sound darker. Check out Common People by Pulp and Jonny Be Goode at this level for examples of this! 7
G major chord G major Chord This is the standard way of playing a G chord using just fingers 1, 2 and 3. There are a few other ways to play the G chord. The one pictured below is the most common and most useful. It doesn t have another name as it has all the same notes as a normal G- but it is usually nicknamed a Big G. As it is also used in Wonderwall by Oasis, I usually call it an Oasis or Noel Gallagher G. Alternative Oasis style G major Chord I nickname this an Oasis G as it is used in Wonderwall, which is one of the most requested songs! It is used in all pop/ rock genres by virtually all guitarists. The advantages of this G are shown in the next lesson. 8
G chord Common changes G to D change You can just lift your fingers off and go for a standard G to a D chord. However, many players and songs use the Big G here because it sounds nicer and the change is easier. THIS is the reason the only new chord at this stage is a G- so you can master this change! If you do, everything afterwards will be easier. If you don t you ll likely have to keep revisiting this over and over. Preserver now- you ll need it to do some of the best songs at this stage including Free Falling by Tom Petty/ John Mayer and Highway To Hell by AC/DC! G chord G to D anchor finger D chord G to A and A to D chord changes No anchor finger for the G to D change, so you just have to lift your fingers to change. The A to D change was covered in the previous level, so this should be OK by now! TOP TIP! Try and memorise the shape your hands make for each chord! 9
Open Minor Chords Minor chords can be easier than the major chords we ve learned. However, they sound very much sad and are therefore less common than happy major chords. This is a fundamental principal in music and goes a long way to the emotional response we have to songs! E minor can also be written as Em for short. The same applies to other chords Notice A minor is almost the same as E major, except that one finger is missing. Em chord Em to Am Anchor finger Am chord Don t play the strings with an X and make sure all other strings ring out by picking them one at a time! Most people find D minor MUCH tougher, especially when changing between chords. This is fine as it is rarely used until higher level songs. It s still an essential chord and needs practicing, but don t worry if it takes you longer to use it in songs. 10
The C Chord The C chord This chord is the biggest stretch we ve done so far and is a totally new shape. It is however so common that you need to take the time to learn and be able to play it. Thumb position Many pro guitarists use their thumb to mute the thickest string on chords that show an X on this string, especially C, A and Am. This is really useful especially with higher level strumming patterns. Without the thumb muting we d have to miss out this string with the pick, which gets harder as strumming becomes higher level. Using the thumb means we don t have to miss this string and is a much easier way to get the same result. However, to play barre chords (harder chords that I cover in my improver/ intermediate level course) we need to develop the thumb muscle or the harder chord grips won t ring out. This muscle is not strengthened by having the thumb on top of the neck, so we still need to play some chords with the thumb behind the neck as opposed to on top. Both of these thumb positions are useful in different situations (i.e. songs) so it s best to be comfortable with either. If you struggle, try both and stick to the one that works for you for each chord you learn. 11 1- Thumb muting the thickest string can make higher level strumming easier 2- Thumb position to develop grip strength in preparation for barre chords
F Chord We re learning the F major 7 (Fmaj7 for short) now as an easier alternative to the big bad F barre chord, or other harder ways to play an F. Sometimes the Fmaj7 will be specifically written and should be played. This is easy as it s really similar to a C chord, which is why I call it an F like a C chord!) The Fmaj7 chord This Fmaj7 doesn t work all the time, which is why we ll have to learn the real F chord after this beginner s course. It can take a few weeks for some people and that s totally fine- it s tough! F Barre Chord This is it, the dreaded F chord! Most beginner struggle with this one for a reason- it s an improver/ intermediate level chord and very much a step up from basic open chords! 12
Oasis style chords The Cadd9 chord is a variation of a C chord used in songs typically in the key of G. The Cadd9 chord Oasis style chords The G to C change is one of the most common to occur in popular songs. Keeping the 3 rd and 4 th fingers down using technique makes for a much easier change and prevents gaps between chords because the thinnest four strings continue to ring out even while changing. G chord (all fingers) Anchor fingers Cadd9 This technique is used in songs by Oasis, Neil Young, Ed Sheeran and countless others. 13
Oasis style chords continued All of the following chords commonly occur in songs that also have a G and a Cadd9. When played, all of these chords go together well. In any order they just sound right. This is the idea of being in a key, in this case key of G. The group of chords on this and the previous page don t have a name, so I ve called them Oasis chords as they re all used in the famous song Wonderwall by Oasis. Em7 chord A7sus4 chord Dsus4 chord Any of these chords could crop up in any order, so work on all these changes while keeping the 3 rd and 4 th fingers down. Chord progressions with these chords can be found at Level 6 06! 14
Want to play more chords easily? Get a capo A capo holds down the strings at a fret on your guitar. There are 3 reasons you should buy one; 1. You can play more songs A capo allows us you to still play the chords you know, but they will now sound like new higher chords, allowing us to play many more songs than we could without. Many songs also say e.g. capo 2 nd fret, therefor you can t play that song right without one! Trigger type capo E chord with capo on 2 nd fret I really recommend the Trigger type capo, these cost as little as $2 on ebay! 2. You can play higher up the neck easily Pro guitarists use a capo creatively to get a certain sound, such as James blunt on You re Beautiful, where his guitar sounds a little like a Mandolin because of a high capo. Singers can move the capo higher or lower to suit their voice. 3. Your guitar is easier to play with a capo In my beginner song lessons, I have used the capo as a way for you to play songs that would otherwise use chords that are very tricky like barre chords. A capo also lowers the action of your guitar, making it easier and better to play. Like this free taster? Why not check out my beginners course ebook! This 81 page ebook includes the chords in this book PLUS strumming patterns, techniques and all the other essential guitar skills you need to be able to play most of the songs on my website and beyond! Click here for more information! 15